Confederate Memorial In Brooklyn Will Be Removed Today

With the shocking, disgusting, and unfortunate events of this past weekend undoubtedly still fresh in people’s minds, it’s important to remember that this kind of behavior, and this marked history, isn’t confined to just one area. Yesterday’s stunningly awful comments from our “commander-in-chief” only furthered opened the wound of the horribly divided state of our nation. While a naive few may not expect it, confederate and confederate-adjacent monuments remain throughout the country—even right here in Brooklyn.

Luckily—and, honestly, it’s stunning that this has even taken so long—said monument will be removed today. St. John’s Episcopal Church, a religious institution that formerly operated in Fort Hamilton, hasn’t been open since 2014, but a tree with a memorial to Confederate General Robert E. Lee has remained long since its closing. The Episcopal Diocese of Long Island owns the property, and, in preparing to sell it, has decided to remove the memorial plaque, which cites that the tree which it’s tethered to was planted by Lee while he was stationed at Fort Hamilton between 1842 and 1847.

A second plaque attached to the tree will also be removed. There’s no update, at this time, about removing the tree itself—which was previously restored.